Trading Statement

RNS Number : 9810V

Record PLC

22 April 2016

 

RECORD PLC
FOURTH QUARTER TRADING UPDATE

Record plc ("Record" or "the Company"), the specialist currency manager, announces today that the Group's assets under management equivalents ("AUME") as at 31^st March 2016 totalled $53.7 billion (31^st December 2015: $53.5 billion).

AUME expressed in sterling as at 31^st March 2016 totalled £37.4 billion (31^st December 2015: £36.3 billion).

1.         AUME composition

AUME expressed in US dollars increased by 0.4% between 31^st December 2015 and 31^st March 2016 and increased by 3% when expressed in sterling.  The composition of AUME by product was as follows:

AUME $ billion
	31st March 2016	31st December 2015
Dynamic Hedging	7.9	8.2
Passive Hedging	43.8	42.3
Currency for Return	1.8	2.8
Cash & Futures	0.2	0.2
Total	53.7	53.5

2.         AUME Movement

Net client AUME flows in the three months to 31^st March 2016 by product were as follows:

Net client AUME flows - $ billion
	3 months to 31st March 2016	3 months to 31st December 2015
Dynamic Hedging	(0.4)	(0.7)
Passive Hedging	(0.1)	0.1
Currency for Return	(1.0)	0.4
Cash & Futures	-	-
Total	(1.5)	(0.2)

Record had 58 clients at 31^st March 2016 (31^st December 2015: 58 clients).

Other than client flows, the factors which have had an aggregate impact on AUME during the quarter of +$1.7 billion, were as follows:

(i)         Exchange rate movements:                                                          +$1.4bn      Exchange rate movements during the period affect the conversion of non-US dollar mandate sizes into US dollar AUME.

(ii)        Movements in global stock and other markets:                         +$0.3bn                  Substantially all the Passive and Dynamic Hedging, and some of the Currency for Return mandates, are linked to stock and other market levels.  Consequently AUME may be affected by movements in these markets.

3.         Investment performance

For US clients during the quarter, our Dynamic Hedging programmes controlled hedging losses in response to US dollar weakness against the basket of foreign currencies.  The largest losses came from hedging the euro and Japanese yen, but losses were limited as hedge ratios fell throughout the period.  Pound sterling was the only currency to depreciate against the US dollar through the period, generating some partially offsetting positive returns.

For UK-based Dynamic Hedging clients the programmes controlled hedging losses in response to sterling weakness against the weighted basket of currencies in the programmes.  Negative returns were primarily driven by hedging the euro; however, losses were limited as the hedge ratio fell close to zero over the quarter.

Investment performance in Record's Active Forward Rate Bias (FRB) product was negative during the three months to 31^st March 2016, and for an ungeared portfolio equated to a return of -1.40% (three months to 31^st December 2015: return of 0.39%).  This compares to a 0.54% return in the quarter for the FTSE Currency FRB10 index (excess return in sterling).  This variance was mainly the result of differences in the allocations of these two strategies to some of the weaker performing currencies in the quarter (largely US dollar and pound sterling).  The FTSE FRB10 Index Fund continued to track the index closely, on a 1.8x‑geared basis.

Record's Emerging Market product investment performance was positive during the quarter and for an un-geared portfolio equated to a quarterly return of 3.46% (three months to 31^st December 2015: return of 1.32%).  This performance was mainly attributable to gains from the Brazilian real, Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit. Annualised performance since inception (30^th November 2009) for an un-geared portfolio was +0.99% p.a.

Investment performance in the Multi-Strategy product that uses the Active FRB strategy was positive during the quarter as gains from the Momentum and Emerging Market components offset negative returns from the Active FRB and Value strategies.  For an un-geared portfolio, the return was 0.53% over the quarter (three months to 31^st December 2015: return of 0.26%).  Annualised performance since inception (31^st July 2012) for an un-geared portfolio is +1.08% p.a.

A version of the Multi-Strategy product, which uses the FTSE Currency FRB10 index strategy instead of the Active FRB product, produced positive returns of 1.04% for an ungeared portfolio during the three months to 31^st March 2016 (three months to 31^st December 2015: return of 0.46%).

4.         AVERAGE FEE RATES AND PERFORMANCE FEES

During the quarter to 31^st March 2016, fee rates for all products remained broadly unchanged from the previous quarter.  Performance fees of £0.3m were earned from a Dynamic Hedging mandate, based on performance over the 12 month period ended 31^st March 2016.

5.         CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S COMMENT

Chief Executive James Wood-Collins, commenting on business development, said:

"Expectations of divergence in monetary policy, and in particular of further US interest rate rises, weakened during the quarter.  In addition the effectiveness of monetary policy measures such as quantitative easing in Japan and the Eurozone on exchange rates has become less evident.  This environment has led to less clear-cut trends, and consequently we are seeing a wide divergence of views amongst investors as to their preferences in managing currency risk and opportunity.

"The referendum on 23^rd June as to whether the UK should remain in or leave the EU was announced during the quarter, and has contributed to the uncertainty attached to the outlook for sterling.  In this respect, our focus will be to anticipate periods of market turbulence and elevated volatility and to manage the impact of these on our clients.

"We believe our range of currency management strategies is well-placed to engage with the diverse interests and objectives of investors, and we are confident that further progress can be made in the current financial year."

Record will announce its financial results for the year ended 31^st March 2016 on 17^th June 2016 and the first quarter trading update on 22^nd July 2016.

For further information, please contact:

Record plc                                                                             Tel: [phone]

James Wood-Collins, Chief Executive Officer

Steve Cullen, Chief Finance Officer

MHP                                                                                        Tel: [phone]

Nick Denton                                                                                       [e-mail]

Ollie Hoare

Notes to Editors

Record plc

Record is a specialist currency manager and provider of currency hedging services for institutional clients. Founded in 1983, Record has established a market leading position as a currency manager. Specifically, the Group has a leading position in managing Currency Hedging and Currency for Return for institutional clients.

The Group has three principal product lines:

-    Dynamic Hedging, where Record seeks to eliminate the impact of currency movements on elements of clients' investment portfolios that are denominated in foreign currencies when these movements are expected to result in an economic loss to the client, but not to do so when they are expected to result in an economic gain;

-    Passive Hedging, where Record seeks to eliminate fully or partially the economic impact of currency movements on elements of clients' investment portfolios that are denominated in foreign currencies; and

-    Currency for Return, in which Record enters into currency contracts for clients with the objective of generating positive returns.

Record (LSE: REC) was admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange on 3^rd December 2007.

This announcement includes information with respect to Record's financial condition, its results of operations and business, strategy, plans and objectives. All statements in this document, other than statements of historical fact, including words such as "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates", "may", "will", "continue", "project" and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the Company's future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause the actual future results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by such forward-looking statements.

The forward-looking statements contained in this document are based on numerous assumptions regarding Record's present and future business and strategy and speak only as at the date of this announcement.

The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

END

 

 

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